23 May 2005

My Jamaican Guy

You may encounter many gay or bi-sexual Jamaican men across the Tri-State or in South Florida ... but not at home. Being openly gay on the island is a risky and sometimes fatal proposition. BBC's 1Xtra has broadcast a fascinating documentary on the culture of homophobia in the island paradise. "I have had friends who have been attacked and chopped up like meat in the slaughterhouse, " says Marcus, one young gay Jamaican.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International continues to press for reforms. Activists want sodomy laws repealed and violence curbed. The hostile climate has forced many HIV-positive Jamaicans underground. Health care experts fear hundreds or possibly thousands need medicine and advanced care, but are afraid to seek treatment. But change is an uphill battle "in a climate where popular Jamaican singing artists commonly urge their audiences to kill gay men." The dancehall and reggae culture of advocating violence toward gays was the cover of a Village Voicearticle last February.

Comments

definitely man this has to be one of the most depressing things ever imaginable for someone as young as me who has actually grown up in the era where being homosexual is so widely accepted. i've read some stories on things like this elsewhere and it breaks my heart. :tear:

Gays from the U.S. and Europe should boycott traveling to Jamaica until the government changes the laws. The homophobia in Jamaica is as virulent as was apartheid in South Africa. We need to do more than just talk about it. Our brothers and sisters who live on the island are probably suffering in ways we'll never know.

I had the opportunity to meet Gareth, one of the organizers from J-FLAG (Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals, and Gays) when he was here in Atlanta. He is a beautiful, quiet, sincere young man. He is speaking up for his people and his country. And his life is in danger. He's seen friends killed for being gay and has himself been threatened and attacked. Tragedy.

this is one of the saddest and scariest things i have read in a long time. i knew of the homophobic rhetoric in some of the reggae tunes, but i had no idea that the persecution included murder...sanctioned by the jamaican government. thanks for making this information readily avaiable. we shoud do something about this. it sickens me!

I feel that hatred and murder is much worse than anyone can imagine. Here's another way people of color are comitting genocide within the walls of that color line. We always cry for acceptance, but we cannot get along with each other. Live and let live. Let God decide the fate of mankind!

when are gay people going to stop being victims and fight back. Its your life you talking about. If enough gays started fighting, physically fighting back things would change. Kicking Black peoples ass was a sport in the U.S. until black people started fighting back. Not the marching and singing, but the getting weapons and fighting or threatening to fight. And if you're not good with your hands then get a fuckin gun and use to protect yourself. In the situation of its your life or theirs, whose life is more important?

I hear what people are saying, but the media blows this completely out of proportion. Murder of gays is not sanctioned by the Jamaican government. Many many people are murdered in Jamaica every week, and I have never heard of anyone murdered for being gay. Last year, a member of J-Flag was killed, but it was apparently by a younger gay "thug" he had picked up, who killed him for money.
Now, the dancehall lyrics advocating violence towards gays are deplorable and should be made illegal. However, outsiders should understand that most of it is just posturing, that dancehall artists throw in to make sure to get their "street cred". Yes, it's disgusting, and yes, it should be stopped. But just wanted to make clear that it's not leading to mass bloodshed.

In response to "cris is bliss", RE: artists just throwing in certain lyrics that will boost their "street cred" OK.. Lets just imagine a well known white artist, someone like Elton John or Madonna for example, and lets imagine they are deep down closet racists, suddenly Elton releases a song about killing Blacks or Pakistani's...what sort of reaction is Elton likely to get do you think? But he only did it to gain more street cred amongst the KKK and British National Party(BNP), can't critisize him for that right???

So that's where your arguement falls down "cris is bliss", you're asking people to accept these lyrics as just a street cred thing, but it reality the lyrics have a far more profound effect and have lead to gay people being targeted and beaten. I'm all for free speech, but not when it encourages one group of people in society to be singled out and beaten or killed. The fundamental right to live your life as you want is the real issue here, we, all of us should have the right to live our lives in peace without fear of attack. I'm very familiar with Jamaicans and their views on this subject, however I have found that individualy many of them have no real problem with gays, but at a dance its a different story, gays are demonized and looked upon as fair game. I really do feel for the gay men and women of Jamaica and other Caribbean countries, being a developing country doesn't excuse what is allowed to go on there.

I was born and raised in Jamaica, and I knew from a very early age that I was gay. That knowledge convinced me to do everything in my power to emigrate. Fortunately, my family moved away from there when I was 17, and we settled in the United States. Jamaica is the most repressive and confoundingly conservative (read "backward")place that you can imagine.

Hey Dwight, surely Jamaica is not as bad as all that. Well, maybe it was repressive and conservative a decade ago. A lot has changed bro. Which is not to say that gays are allowed full/free expression of their desires. Yet... a lot has changed. Even in some of our inner city communities, known gay men are allowed to live and let live. Some even flaunt their gayness. Yes, there are still DJ's who assert that "batty man fe dead" and there are some "backward" people who may kill you if they even think that you are gay. Nevertheless, a lot has changed. I am happy that you were able to leave Jamaica. I hope you have found the happiness and peace that all humans seek. Hopefully, I will be able to live in the US of A or the UK one sweet day. Peace bro.

THIS IA VERY REAL CONCEPT AND YES WHILE THERE IS A SPIRALLING CRIME RATE.. WHO KNOW SOF TEH UNANNOUNCE CASES OF MN ( YES GAY MEN IN PARTICLUR) BEING HOUNDED, BEATEN, JAILED AND YES WORST KILLED. THE MEDIA DOESNT DWELL OR HIGHLIGH THESE CASES OR SIMPLE JUST BROADCASTTHEN AS ANY OTHER MUDER.. BUT I HAVE KNOWN SEVERL MEN WHO HAVE BEEN ATTCKED AND EVEN KILLED BY GROUPS OF O PRODIMANTLYOTHER MEN OR MEN WHO SAY THEY ARE GUY AND THEN WHEN BEHIND CLOSE DOORS MURDER THEM. WE HAVE LOST TOO MANY AN DTEH MEDIA IS QUICK TO POINT THE FINGER AS THAT THE KILLINGS ARE WITH THE COMMUNITY.. THE TRUTH IS YES GAY MEN.. IN JAMAICA .. LIEK ALMOST ANYWHERE ELSE ON EARTH, LIKE THE CONCEPT OF WOOING STR8 ME AND SADLY WE TEND TO PUT OURSELVES IN DANGER FOR THE THRILL OF STR8 MEAT. THIS IS FURTHER IMPACTED YES MY TEH UNRELENTING VENOM SPEWED AS ARTIST FREEDOM BY TEH DANCEHALL AND REGGAE CULTURE.. AND ITS VERY IRONIC THAT TEH SAME MEN WHO SING THESE L;YRICS ARE SOMETIME IDOLIZED BY TEH VERY SAME GAY MEN ( ESPECIALLY THE VERY FEMININE ONES)... JAMAICA IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.. DESPITE TEH CORRUPT, CRIME AND TEH WAVE OF HOMOPHOBIA.. THERE IS A THRIVING COMMUNITY OF GAY/BISEXUAL MEN.. GRANTED PREDOMINANTLY UNDERGROUND.. BUT THEN AGAIN TEH BIGOTS OF OUR SOCIETY WOULD SAY THATS WHERE GAYS BELONG.. UNDERGROUND ( AND IM NOT TALKING HIDDEN.. BUT SIX FOOT SIX .. DEAD AND BURIED). TEH CRISIS OF HIV IS ANOTHER ISSUE AS THE GROWING CASES OF INFECTION IS NOW SHOWING WOMEN AS BEING TEH LATEST FATALITIES AND HAS A GAY MAN WHO LIVE SIN JAMAICA WHO IS POISTIVE MYSELF.. I FIND IT IRONIC TO NOTE ATTEH HEALTH FACILTIES THE FACE OF HIV IN JAMAICA IS FEMALE NOT MALE.. AND WE KNWO TEH MEN HAVE IT BUT HIDE AWAY.. BECUZ ITS NOT WMONE GIVING IT TO THEMSELVES. THIS COUNTRY IS ONE OF PARADOXES AND CONTRASTS.. OF HEAVENLY BEAUTY 9 NATURALLY AND OF TEH MEN0 AND OF UGLINESS SO DEEP ( CRIME, POVERTY, CORRUPTION AND BIGOTRY).

THIS IS NOT A BLOG TO ADD TO JAMAICA'S ALREADY BAD REP WORLWIDE.. BUT JUST ONE TO SAY I LIVE IT AND AS THE EVOLUTIONIST CHARLES DARWIN THEORISED. ' ITS SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.. ADAPT OR DIE.. NATURAL SELECTION' TO THIS I SAY NO MATTER HOW THE DANCE ARTISTES, THE CLERGY, THE EDUCATED 'DO-GOODERS, THE UNCOMMON MAN ON THE STREET AND THE POLITICIANS MAY WISH , TRY FUEL , IGNORE AND ADVOCATE TEH DISMISS AND IRRADICATION OF 'US' AS THE WAY GOD INTENDED..... WE WILL CONTINUE TOI THRIVE AND EXIST, LIVING IN A SOCIETY OF VARIED LANDSCAPE.. BECUZ AT THE END OF THE DAY WE ARE VERY MUCH HERE AND HERE TO STAY.